Two major problems with cinnamon as a treatment for ants: it is easily blown away and it doesn't solve the problem that you have, which is ants having access to your beehive. By this I mean you need to isolate your hive from the ants using physical methods. All my hives are isolated from the ground on pallets that have stainless steel legs touching the ground. Those legs are either coated with tanglefoot on the underside where the stand meet the pallet, or are submerged in a tin can filled with 1/2 water and 1/2 motor oil. This creates a physical barrier to any marauding ants so long as no other branch or blade of grass makes contact with the pallet from the ground.

I even go a step further and ratchet strap my hives down to the pallet for wind and earthquake proof protection.

Where I live Argentine Ants are a constant menace, and I can say that I have never lost a hive to them yet.

Cinnamon does not work very well with the red ants. For those you should use ant bait stations. The cinnamon works best for the tiny sugar ants, they will disappear for sure. I have been using cinnamon in conjunction with bait stations for year with lots of success. I also live in a dry climate with very little rain, so I only need to apply the cinnamon 2-3 times per year. Wind has not been to much of an issue, and we do get wind every day in the afternoon. I have my hives sitting on top of rails, which sit on top of concrete blocks. The cinnamon really clings onto the concrete blocks. I also have tree frogs, and having a vent notch in the inner cover allows them to climb in. They catch any ant that makes it in that way and the bees never bother with the frogs.

I've had 'iffy' luck with cinnamon. But when used regularly, especially after rainfall it will disperse ants. If one lives in an area with lots of rain another option might be preferable. That all said; my bees don't seem to mind the ants unless they get inside the hives which happens infrequently at worst.

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I check the need for reapplication every time I do an inspection on my hives. Excessively hot weather can "melt" the tanglefoot and allow it to run, which thins it a bit. Still, ants don't get past. 2-3 applications a year is sufficient.

I had the same problem at my garden with sugar ants. It was a little time intensive but I went out 3 days in a row and smashed all the ants near where they were getting up and into my raised bed. Did that for about 15 minutes each day. Ants put out pheromones when they run into something like that. I found after several days of this they stopped using that route and foraged somewhere else. Of course I only had strawberries not honey at the other end.

Michael Bush's recipe of borax, jelly, and water works great. Last year my hives were being overrun with sugar ants. I tried cinnamon, grease, chalk,etc. The thing that worked was the borax mix in 12 oz plastic pop bottles laying on their side with small holes drilled in the top so the ants could get in but the bees couldn't. Within 3 days the ants were gone and I had no further issues. Going forward the bottles will be standard practice in my yards.

Michael Bush's recipe of borax, jelly, and water works great. Last year my hives were being overrun with sugar ants. I tried cinnamon, grease, chalk,etc. The thing that worked was the borax mix in 12 oz plastic pop bottles laying on their side with small holes drilled in the top so the ants could get in but the bees couldn't. Within 3 days the ants were gone and I had no further issues. Going forward the bottles will be standard practice in my yards.

Jim

Cool advise Leather Jim! 8-) I like the idea of 'small holes' in the bottle allowing ants to enter but too small for bees. Seems the bottle method will last longer (less waste) than the 'pour' method as well….……thanks!

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